DUI collisions

Ioane Lui Nuumau II, 28, and Ryan Faiga Tauilili, 24 were killed in a Los Angeles car accident after the pickup truck they were travelling in crashed into a cement wall. According to a City News Service report, the fatal car crash occurred on Wilshire Boulevard at Park View Street, the early morning of October 8, 2011. Officials say David Young Lee, 27, lost control of the white GMC pickup and struck a cement wall. Nuumau and Tauilili were killed in the crash, while Lee suffered critical injuries and a fourth occupant, a 23-year-old man, suffered minor injuries. Lee has been booked on suspicion of murder because the authorities believe he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Read the rest »

Six children were injured, two critically, in a Lancaster car accident, which officials say, involved a suspected drunk driver. According to an NBC news report, the injury collision occurred the morning of September 25, 2011, when a 2002 Toyota Sequoia driven by 31-year-old Stanesha Nicole Allen, drifted onto the dirt shoulder near 65th Street East. The Toyota SUV rolled over and some of the children were ejected. Two of the critically injured children were airlifted to a hospital while four others sustained minor to moderate injuries. The children ranged in age from 10 months to 11 years old. Allen was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The children's relation to Allen has not been established. An investigation is ongoing.

My heart goes out to the young children who were seriously injured in this SUV rollover accident. I pray for their speedy and complete recovery.

Read the rest »

?Johnny Carrillo, a 23-year-old U.S. Army ranger, and a 31-year-old woman were both killed in an Orange County motorcycle accident, which officials say, involved speed and alcohol. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal crash occurred as the motorcycle, driven by Carrillo, was westbound on Malvern Avenue approaching Monticello Avenue in Buena Park, early morning on July 21, 2011.

Police say Carrillo, who was speeding on a Honda motorcycle, lost control and hit a concrete median. The motorcycle slid and struck a light pole. Both Carrillo and the woman were helmeted, and were ejected from the motorcycle. Carrillo was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was transported to an area trauma center where she died during surgery. Officials say speed and alcohol were factors in this tragic crash.

Read the rest »

Jacob Conneen, 24, and five others sustained injuries in a Bakersfield car accident, which officials say, was caused by a suspected drunk driver. According to a news report in The Californian, the injury collision occurred the morning of June 9, 2011 at the intersection of California Avenue and Oak Street. Police say 18-year-old David Longoria, who was driving a Lincoln Mark VII, ran a red light and crashed into a Nissan Altima driven by Conneen. Both drivers suffered non-life-threatening injuries, as did four passengers in Longoria's vehicle. Longoria was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and driving without a license.

My thoughts and prayers are with the many injured victims of this injury collision. I wish all the injured victims a speedy and complete recovery.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol's 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 14 people were killed and 140 were injured in Bakersfield DUI collisions. During that same year, there were 35 fatalities and 476 injuries reported as a result of alcohol-related crashes in Kern County. Read the rest »

Four people were injured in a Tulare County car accident involving a driver who, officials state, was under the influence. According to a news report in The Porterville Recorder, the DUI collision occurred at the intersection of Henderson Avenue and Newcomb Street in Porterville, the morning of June 5, 2011. Officials say that Pablo Alvarez, 20, was under the influence of alcohol when he ran a red light and crashed into a car driven by Zeina Morlet Rocha, 35.

Alvarez, Rocha and her passenger, 25-year-old Christian Reyes, all suffered serious injuries. Alvarez's passenger, Jorge Martinez, 28, was treated and released from the hospital. Police say Alvarez was under the influence, but charges are yet to be filed.

My thoughts and prayers are with the many injured victims of this street intersection accident. I wish them all a complete and speedy recovery. Read the rest »

Ashton Sweet, 14, was severely injured in an Irvine car accident after the vehicle in which she was a passenger was struck by a suspected drunk driver. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the major injury accident occurred at the intersection of Irvine Boulevard and Culver Drive, early morning on May 29, 2011. Ashton was one of five people in a Mercedes Benz who were injured in the crash with a Toyota pickup truck, driven by 26-year-old Austin Farley.

The Mercedes' driver, 48-year-old Mike Ghaemi, and two others were treated at the hospital and released. Krista Merassa, 15, remains in critical condition. Ashton's family has said the girl is brain-dead, but that she is being kept on life support so her organs could be donated. She is not expected to survive. Farley has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Read the rest »

Jose Lopez Ramirez, 49, and Ismael Baez-Cueva, 55, were both seriously injured the night of May 21, 2011 in a Riverside car accident, which officials say, was caused by excessive speed and driving under the influence. According to a news report in The Desert Sun, the suspected DUI accident occurred on Cathedral Canyon Drive, near Dinah Shore Drive, in Cathedral City. Officials say Ramirez was driving a Ford Expedition at a high rate of speed, when it veered out of control, left the roadway, and crashed. Apparently, neither Ramirez nor his passenger Baez-Cueva, were wearing seatbelts. They both sustained serious injuries and have been listed in critical condition.

My thoughts and prayers are with Baez-Cueva, the injured passenger. I wish him the very best for a speedy and complete recovery. Read the rest »

The driver of a school bus was injured in a San Francisco car accident, which officials say, involved a suspected drunk driver. According to a news report in the Palo Alto Online, the collision occurred between a car and a school bus the morning of April 28, 2011. The suspected drunk driver, later identified as 20-year-old Alberto Cuellar, was southbound on Middlefield in Menlo Park when he collided with a northbound Sequoia Union High School District bus carrying 32 students. The children were not injured. The bus driver was hospitalized with complaints of neck and wrist pain. Cuellar was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor drunk driving, which could be elevated to a felony depending on the extent of the bus driver's injuries.

It is indeed fortunate that none of the students was involved in this school bus accident. I wish the school bus driver the very best for a speedy and complete recovery. Read the rest »

Kailyn Williams, 12, sustained critical injuries in a Los Angeles car accident after she was hit by a suspected drunk driver while riding her bicycle. According to a CBS News report, the major injury collision occurred on April 22, 2011. Police say the driver, Thomas Abraham Long, was driving a Chrysler Concorde westbound on West Arbutus Street in Compton, when he struck Kailyn who was riding her bike near her home. Long stopped at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

My heart goes out to young Kailyn Williams who has apparently sustained a traumatic brain injury in this accident. Officials say she has undergone brain surgery and is in a medically induced coma. Her family is praying for a miracle. My thoughts and prayers are with this child. I sincerely hope she makes it through these critical injuries and goes on to make a complete recovery. Read the rest »

Concepcion Gomez, 30, was fatally injured in a Modesto area car accident, which authorities report, involved a drunk driver the morning of April 2, 2011. According to a news article in The Modesto Bee, the fatal DUI accident occurred on West Main Street near Jennings Road in Patterson. Gomez was riding in a Honda Odyssey that was struck by a black Mercedes. Gomez died at the scene of the accident. Juan Rodriguez, 39, Andres Rodriguez, 6, and Ricardo Rodriguez, 1, who were the other occupants of the Honda, have been transported to area hospitals with injuries. The driver of the Mercedes, Miguel G. Almanza, 24, was also injured. California Highway Patrol officials say Almanza may face charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter. An investigation is pending.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Concepcion Gomez following this tragic DUI car accident. I wish all the injured victims of this car accident a complete and speedy recovery. Read the rest »